Flat White

In-depth analysis of the day’s news, plus stories and gossip from Australian politics.

WTO plain pack verdict a victory for criminals and nanny

5 July 2018 6:02 pm

Five years have passed since a coalition of tobacco-producing nations including Indonesia and Honduras challenged Australia’s world-first laws that prevent…

Lucky there’s no section 44 for the NSW parliament

5 July 2018 5:29 pm

This is very disturbing. Very disturbing indeed. Bob Carr has a hell of a lot to answer for, as today’s…

Is the string bag really a tool of repression?

5 July 2018 3:25 pm

Proponents of Utopian progress have devoted endless time to pursuits intent on discarding tradition, reality and practicality. Legacies of their…

Scarlett Johansson slammed because of, you know, diversity

5 July 2018 1:30 pm

If Hollywood had stuck to what it’s all about (making movies) rather than playing politics, Scarlett Johansson might have just…

Whatever happened to that same-sex marriage boom?

5 July 2018 9:55 am

Now that all the glitter has settled after last year’s non-binding voluntary postal survey—remember, we couldn’t be trusted to have…

Rock and roll realpolitik

4 July 2018 6:21 pm

Welcome to world politics where, as the old song used to go, ‘It’s a little bit tyranny, a little bit…

The sprig of 4 July at the heart of our constitution

4 July 2018 2:44 pm

Most Australians would know that today, July 4, is the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence of…

By the prophet’s beard, it’s the hoejabi!

4 July 2018 1:06 pm

“The New York Times”, the venerable newspaper of record, the blushing Grey Old Lady, has discovered a new phenomenon –…

No way, Huawei!

4 July 2018 7:47 am

John Lord, Huawei’s Australian Chairman recently told the National Press Club that he’d refuse any instruction from Beijing “to hand…

Never mind the cow farts, watch that muesli

3 July 2018 7:39 pm

It was only going to be a matter of time before the early, nationwide record-breaking chill of June had the…

Australia: bagged by the court of international opinion

3 July 2018 2:59 pm

Oh, no! We’re a global pariah! Again! It’s on news.com.au, so it has to be true: The whole world is…

Abandoning liberalism is going viral

3 July 2018 11:01 am

A movement of people ditching liberalism is taking off. We’re not talking a handful of people, but millions. It all…

Victorian Liberals can’t afford to gamble

3 July 2018 9:06 am

Many litigants are like gamblers on the pokies.  Having had the satisfaction of winning a small jackpot, they punt, punt…

There was a concerted effort to ruin my life: Yassmin

2 July 2018 3:09 pm

It was a vast, right-wing conspiracy — a concerted effort — explains Yassmin Abdel-Magied: “I don’t know how to explain how…

Do the Greens go for pre-teen sexts?

2 July 2018 10:37 am

It’s now official. The world has gone completely mad and the Greens have so utterly lost the plot politically that…

The rich get richer while the poor get… richer too

2 July 2018 7:45 am

One of the striking results of the survey of millennials released by the Centre for Independent Studies last month was…

The Ramsay soap opera continues

1 July 2018 1:24 pm

While I am disappointed that the men of Ramsay Street, Tony Abbott and his Neighbour, John Howard… sorry, the Ramsay…

Spring is coming?

29 June 2018 7:04 pm

A recurrent theme in the avidly-watched Games of Thrones is ‘winter is coming’. This has been interpreted to mean various…

Plastic Bags and the nuisance state

29 June 2018 4:48 pm

The lives of ordinary people have been made worse by the elimination of plastic bags in supermarkets – achieved by…

The Ramsay Centre? It’s still all Tony Abbott’s fault, apparently

29 June 2018 2:11 pm

I must say, Peter van Onselen is doing nothing for the editorial standards over at The Australian at the moment…

Professional politics: in the name of the people, with contempt for the people

29 June 2018 11:30 am

Politicians are building more barriers to repel the views of their voters, and a directionless centre-right is at the forefront.…

It’s official: Australia is not dangerous for women

29 June 2018 8:01 am

If you listen to screeching hysteria of extremist exhibitionist feminist activists, you’d think women are in perilous danger every moment…

Caught by the Shorten curlies?

28 June 2018 5:19 pm

Can you imagine the temperature under Bill Shorten’s collar right now? Positively boiling. His neck is probably generating sufficient heat…

Guess who’s got a poll next year?

28 June 2018 4:04 pm

Every budget has a theme, whether real or concocted. For the NSW budget tabled last week, the theme is “putting…

Consent? Hell no!

28 June 2018 1:02 pm

Charles Sturt University in New South Wales has introduced a compulsory, intensive education program for first-year students. Students watch and…